Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

In order to qualify for financial aid programs, students must consistently meet mandated satisfactory academic progress requirements. These requirements are applied uniformly to all students when determining their eligibility for federal and/or Immaculata funds at the end of every academic semester for each student enrolled in an academic program at the University. The requirements are a combination of quantitative and qualitative standards. In order to meet minimum requirements, students must progress in both the quantitative and qualitative standards. The following is the policy at Immaculata in regard to financial aid eligibility for all Immaculata administered programs.

Minimum Standards For Satisfactory Academic Progress For Financial Aid Applicants

Federal regulations require that an institution establish, publish, and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether a student, who is otherwise eligible for aid, is maintaining satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study. The standards must be the same or stricter than the institution's standards for a student enrolled in the same academic program who is not receiving financial aid. Listed below is the complete statement of Minimum Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid recipients.

Credits – Quantitative Requirements

• Full-time students - enrolled for at least twelve (12) credits per semester, are required to successfully complete a minimum of 24 credits per academic year.
• Three-quarter time students - enrolled for at least nine (9) credits per semester, are required to successfully complete a minimum of 18 credits per academic year.
• Half-time students - enrolled for at least six (6) credits per semester, must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credits per academic year.

Grade Point Average (G.P.A) – Qualitative Requirements

Undergraduate students must maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 calculated at the end of the academic semester, and/or complete seventy-five percent of cumulative credits within each academic semester in order to be considered a student in good standing. Graduate students must maintain a Cumulative GPA of 3.0 calculated at the end of each semester to be considered a student in good standing.

Measurement Of Academic Progress Requirements

Financial Aid requires that the student maintain satisfactory academic progress, which means that full-time and part-time students must earn at least 75% of credits attempted. Part-time students must be enrolled in at least six credits per semester to remain eligible for aid. Students whose enrollment status varies during the academic year must earn a proportionate number of credits. PA State Grant recipients must complete a minimum of 24 credits and 30 weeks of classroom instruction for every two semesters of state grant assistance received as a full-time student and a minimum of 12 credits and 30 weeks of classroom instruction for every two terms of grant assistance received as a half-time student. Enrollment status is determined at the end of the drop-add period of each semester.

Academic progress will be measured at the end of each semester. Students who were enrolled during the fall and/or spring semesters and failed to meet the qualitative and/or quantitative requirements for academic progress can attempt to complete additional credits and bring up their GPA during the summer sessions. However, only credits earned at Immaculata University will affect the GPA. Credits taken at another university will only affect total credits. Upon completion of the additional credits, a new determination of academic progress will be made. Transfer students are evaluated for academic progress in May, after the first spring semester attended at Immaculata University. Students who transfer in for the fall semester are evaluated on their academic performance at the end of their first fall and spring semesters. Students that transfer in beginning with the spring semester are evaluated on their performance during their first spring semester. All financial aid applicants are subject to the Satisfactory Academic Standards regardless of whether or not they received financial assistance previously. Failures and withdrawals are courses attempted, but not completed. Incompletes are not counted toward credits completed until after the course work is successfully completed and posted by the Registrar. Repeat courses will not count toward credits completed for satisfactory academic progress since the credits were already counted toward the quantitative standards the first time the course was completed.

Appealing the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Any student identified as not meeting the published Satisfactory Academic Progress standards has the right to appeal the standard based upon special circumstances. Notification of procedures concerning the appeal process will occur in writing from the Office of Financial Aid to affected students. The Office of Financial Aid will verify the presence of special circumstances using communications with a representative of the Vice President of Academic Affairs Office. It is strongly recommended that students concerned with meeting minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress standards seek immediate consultation with the Executive Director in the Center for Undergraduate Advising.

Maximum Semesters Of Eligibility

Students are expected to complete their program of study (degree) in the number of semesters indicated for their degree program. Transfer students and students changing programs are placed in an appropriate semester on the basis of credits transferred. Such students are expected to complete their degree according to the remaining semesters in their program plus one additional semester to allow for scheduling difficulties. The maximum time frame for completing Associate degree requirements is three years for full-time students and six years for part-time students. The maximum time frame for completing Baccalaureate degree requirements is six years (twelve full-time semesters) for full-time students and twelve years for part-time students. Transfer credits earned at other institutions that are applicable to the student's program of study will be considered in determining the student's maximum time frame for program completion. Students must make quantitative and qualitative progress toward their educational goals each academic year to receive assistance. The academic year consists of two regular semesters and the summer sessions.

Reinstatement Of Financial Aid

Financial aid eligibility may be reinstated when the student has re-established satisfactory academic standing and/or has demonstrated a significant improvement in progress toward the educational objective. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office when cumulative GPA. requirements have been met and/or credit deficiencies have been corrected. Aid eligibility will then be re-evaluated, and reinstatement will be dependent upon the availability of funds, regardless of demonstrated eligibility.

Credits taken during the summer at another institution must be approved by the Executive Director in the Center for Undergraduate Advising. These credits may be used in determining the student’s academic progress for that particular year. Requests for re-evaluation of aid eligibility must be made to the Financial Aid Office after all transfer credits have been officially recorded on the student’s transcript. It is the student’s responsibility to request that official transcripts be forwarded to the Registrar for transfer credit evaluation.

Appeals

If due to extenuating circumstances, students fail to meet academic progress requirements, they may appeal the termination of their financial aid. Appeals must be made in writing to the Director of Financial Aid and must include an explanation of the student’s situation along with a request for reinstatement of financial aid.

Federal and state regulations require that colleges enforce standards of satisfactory academic progress. Students should understand that Immaculata standards of satisfactory academic progress must be met for financial assistance renewal. If aid eligibility is lost because of failure to meet University requirements for satisfactory academic progress or there are mitigating circumstances, requests for review may be made through the Office of Financial Aid. All requests and appeals must be in writing.

Verification Policy

Some students are required by the federal government to document financial circumstances with the Immaculata University Financial Aid Office. This process, called verification, is required by the federal government to confirm the data submitted on the FAFSA or to confirm students’ eligibility to receive financial aid. Students may be selected for verification either by the U.S. Department of Education or by the University’s Financial Aid Office.

Only students selected for verification need to complete this step. If a student is selected for verification, funds will not be disbursed until the process is complete. Immaculata University will request information in writing from the student upon notification from the federal government. Failure to fully submit requested information after three notifications will result in the cancellation of all federal, state, and University need-based funds. Any changes to aid eligibility as a result of the completion of the verification process will be communicated to the student in writing reflecting the changes/updates made to the FAFSA information, and changes/updates to the financial aid awards. If the student owes a repayment as a result of the changes, the financial aid award(s) will be adjusted, and the student will be billed for any balance due the University as a result. In the case of overpayments, funds will be refunded to the Department of Education.

What to Do

A student will be notified by Immaculata if he or she is selected for verification. The letter will contain a verification form and instructions on how to submit the appropriate documents. Students can also monitor outstanding requirements and their status via your S.S. IU online account. Students will also receive notification of selection by Department of Education on the FAFSA submission confirmation information email.
Students selected for verification should download and complete the current academic year Verification Worksheet. Some of the additional requirements may include:

• Copies of federal income tax transcripts and accompanying schedules from the IRS website at www.irs.gov
• Non-Filer Worksheet (independent student and or/parent) if did not file for previous tax year
• Documentation of independent student status
• Documentation of citizenship must be delivered to the Office of Financial Aid in person or Notarized.
• Verification of Social Security number — Students who have changed their name should be sure to notify the Social Security Administration or aid cannot be disbursed.
• Veterans may need to verify their status in order to receive aid.
• Low Income Verification Form

Tips: Do not submit any information until Immaculata requests it. The verification letter will be mailed to the home address of new students; for a current student, the verification letter will be mailed to the local address on file in the S.S. IU online account